Chương 1021

CH1021 Laying in bed that night after a long day of losing, whatever team he was put on in their games having their fate largely sealed, Thera nestled into his arms, still wanting the comfort they provided, with the fear of losing him still fresh in her mind, even if she was taking it well.

"Seems like you had a good talk with Mora," he said, the two of them not able to be so open about it earlier when the kids were around.

"Everything went well?"

"It did," she nodded.

"He told me that he was thinking about killing demons, and I told him that I didn't want him to. Cleared things right up." Unlike when they'd taken the boy in and Thera had first learned of the pacifism that had led to his abandonment, she seemed a lot less conflicted about whether or not she'd made the correct choice in what she'd told him, having settled into her parental role, even if she wouldn't want to admit it, and it left Ben to smile.

"Good, he shouldn't be worrying about stuff like that."

"And you? Things went okay with Delair?"

"Mmh, seeing me lose my head had a bigger effect than I thought, but we talked it out. I think she's doing better. At least living in Stonewall, there won't be as many concerns to stress her or the adults around her out, so I think whatever lingering issues there might be will resolve themselves with time. And you? Feeling a bit better, maybe properly accepted that you're now the world's third living soul mage?"

"I believe I'm actually fourth," she teased.

"You were pretty smug about getting the job yourself, after all, weren't you?"

"Ha, okay, sure, but you know mine doesn't really count. Imagine how any normal person would react if they found out I was walking around as a soul mage without any soul magic. They'd feel cheated."

"Mmh, well, I'm going to need to make some time to properly explore the magic a bit for myself. You've already shoved all the spells into my head, but since I have a variant-""A variant that straight up calls you a goddess," he laughed.

"Ugh, yeah. Well, considering that, along with how much my mana pool has grown, I'm going to need to experiment a bit with new spells to see everything I can do. Once everything is a bit more settled, it's going to be a lot of work."

"You have the time. Besides, admit it. Doesn't it feel good?"

"You mean besides the part where I only got this during the traumatizing experience of trying to regrow your severed head?"

"Yeah, ignoring that."

"... Yeah, if I let myself forget about that then it's pretty great," she admitted, a smile coming to her face.

"When I was having my magic issues for, well, most of my life, I never dreamed I'd reach this. An earth magic I either couldn't use or could barely use and a charm I could only use too much, but now… well, for one, I'm acutely aware of just how many souls you're constantly making and suddenly understand why Yuzu has the constant urge to shake you. Are the gods sure there's no issue with that?"

"I've made more than a trillion souls by now and given that they seem to be a feature of every life-bearing universe, if there's some multiversal god ruling over them then they haven't even blinked. Which, admittedly, I guess makes sense. When it comes to the grand scale of the multiverse, there has to be entire universes occasionally coming out of existence. If there was anything that was going to notice the few I'm adding, a trillion might just be a rounding error."

"Mmh, I think for everyone's sake, I'm going to tell myself that there's no such thing as gods ruling over the multiverse."

"I mean, there are outsiders for sure, and seeing as how they can definitely be at the level of gods or third tiers, in all of infinity, it doesn't seem too farfetched to think something more powerful might exist out there."

"Then I hope if there is, it's far, far away from our reality. I'm a lot more comfortable with you being the most powerful monster around; I don't need anything more dangerous popping up."

"Ah, but sadly, it's now pretty clear that I'm nowhere near dangerous enough. Something I'm going to have to work on."

"Ha, good, you better," Thera told him, wanting the same now that she'd almost lost him.

"Losing to something so much weaker than you has to be at least a little embarrassing, doesn't it?"

"God, you have no idea." She laughed at his frustration, and they talked a bit longer until finally, Thera went to sleep, that being Ben's sign to head up above for the night.

"Okay, today went well," Ben said immediately as he arrived in front of his god.

"Not, like, great, obviously, but better. Think the kids are going to be okay and Thera seems to be in better spirits herself. I'm going to trust Sachel to handle the rest of the dryads and I'm trusting you with the demidemons after how hard they worked to help, so other than that, do me a favour and ask Anailia to get in contact with Ogilt for me. I want to borrow him tomorrow if I can."

"Would your partner not have been easier to ask?"

"Maybe, but Anailia is a direct line to her people and seeing that basically means a direct line to a good chunk of the great spirits too. This was convenient enough for me."

"Fine, we'll worry about that later. Now that you're up here, there's something else for us to worry about."

"God, fine, what now?"

"A meeting. Your partner just became a third tier for one of this world's most valuable skills, and her goddess wants to have you there for it."

"Well, fancy seeing you again so soon," Ben smiled as he arrived, Anailia timing her own arrival with Thera to coincide with his and, noticing his girlfriend struggle with the divinity around them, extended his sacrilege beyond himself to erase all feelings of it for her, letting her breath significantly easier as more and more gods poured in.

"Thanks," she muttered, still struggling even without that oppressive force just from the feeling of all eyes on her, relaxing a bit more as he took her hand.

"I wasn't expecting something like this so soon."

"Mmh, some stubborn fools decided to push the issue," Anailia told them.

"But don't worry, child. I won't allow things to not fall in your favour."

"I won't either," Ben told her, the thought of how he was prepared to act threatening Thera with another level of stress resistance that he grinned at, even as he got to work on his own part, flashing out his soul in bursts too fast for the gods to perceive, looking into their minds to see what he could expect. With the first issue being one that was easily solved.

Too many gods there intended to use their nature to look within Thera's mind to grasp whatever advantage they could in the coming discussion, but Ben was able to make that a regrettable choice.

Connecting with Thera and maintaining it, he projected his consciousness through her mind, not taking her over, nor allowing her to feel the raw power of his thoughts, merely making it so any deity focusing too heavily on that direction would feel the sting as he revealed a fraction of what he was, making diving deeper an unpleasant prospect for any of them. Hey, you trust me to work in your best interest, right? He thought at her in that bit of privacy he'd created.

I do, but the fact that you're asking is worrying. No, it's fine, there's just some up here I think might cause a fight, so I'm going to act as your representative a bit. Just wanted to make sure you agreed so it wouldn't come as a surprise. With her consent given though, and the last of the gods having shown up, it was time to begin, with Phixth taking the lead of things, casting an exceptionally tired look his way.

I really have to send that guy a fruit basket or something sometime, Ben couldn't help but think, aware that he was probably about to cause more havoc for the stone deity to work through as things began.

"First and foremost, Thera Oress, daughter of Anailia's queen and princess of the world's spirits, allow me on behalf of everyone to congratulate you on your achievement," Phixth told her, trying to show a level of respect some other gods wouldn't have bothered with, yet through that, managed to hit on two points Thera still found tremendously embarrassing.

"Through your efforts, you've reached a level of power that few mortals have managed. You should be proud."

"Thank you," she told him, giving a small bow but saying no more. She knew that enough of the gods had expectations now that she'd reached that level; Anailia and Ben had made that clear enough, with her uncle Falk's long stretches away acting as more proof. She didn't want to say too much and risk that becoming the seed of a later argument, lest she really be forced to see Ben drop any pretense of manners. Able to tell she wasn't going to say anymore, Phixth gave a small smile at her caution before going on.

"And with that power comes the matter of how you'd like to use it."

"It's obvious that there's no time to waste," a different god cut in, not so patient with all the formality being shown.

"A soul mage is a blessing on the world. Even if we don't have time to get her trained completely in that power, we have to at least start."

"We need to make arrangements for her to begin training under her seniors," another joined.

"A few months left, we can arrange the appropriate housing for her station and set up a training schedule-""But why?" Ben asked, filling his voice with curiosity, even if it was just for show.

"That seems like a bit of a waste of everyone's time, don't you think?" If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Elvat and Yuzu are neither so talentless that they can't train her while focusing on their own work," another god bristled, taking issue with Ben's very presence there like so many others did yet having the sense not to say anything when he was both the new soul mage's lover, as well as having been summoned to that meeting at the request of Anailia as well.

"And the nature of her skill has just gone through a substantial change," yet another deity added.

"She may hold a mastery of life and even a strong understanding of death by this point, but she's now walking the domain of souls. It's something that has to be understood."

"Okay, sure. But again, why?"

"Are you just being deliberately obtuse?" One more god snapped.

"Three soul mages is more than we'd ever hoped to have at once on this world, and with the mana she holds, she'll be able to empower the planet like no other if we can get her even the basic knowledge she needs."

"Oh, I'm sure," Ben agreed, seeing right through far too many of them who all had their own goals, be they genuine in their desires, to try to bring her into their fold and away from himself who far too many viewed as a corrupting influence, or even just away from him so that he couldn't personally borrow a soul mage's strength to grow to even greater heights.

"But you all seem to have forgotten something rather important here. You see me, the coming god of sacrilege, evil, and destruction, but it seems that has blinded you all a bit." It was clear among them those who could tell what he was referring to and those who hadn't thought so far, blinded by the rise of a new soul mage or else simply wanting to give him as little thought as possible, with one of the ignorant asking the question, even as they rolled their eyes.

"Then, pray tell, enlighten us. What is it we're forgetting?"

"I'm the eldritch mind holder. Among everything else, it makes me a teacher like no other. Even before she awakened that skill, I'd already taken the souls spells from the heads of Elvat, Yuzu, and even any demons who knew anything interesting enough and incorporated them into her mind. She completely knows how to use the magic of her station; she just needs a bit of practice doing it. Nothing that she needs to be sent off for."

The room filled with conflicting expressions, some thrilled at the idea that they essentially had a new soul mage ready to go, while others viewing that as Ben's way to get more power for himself, rather than just wanting to stay with the woman he loved, but whatever they thought about it, it didn't matter. Their conversation wasn't done.

"Now then," Ben went on, focusing on Phixth specifically.

"What is it you would all like Thera to do and what compensation are you looking to offer for her work?"

"That's between us and her," one in the crowd told him.

"Even if she's your partner, who are you to be deciding for her?"

"An excellent question! I'm someone with her best interests at heart, something that can't be said for the majority of you. Yes, yes, before any of you complain, I know you're thinking about the world as a whole. I get it, very noble, but we've all dealt with each other long enough now that you must know I'm not going to simply sit by and let someone I care about be taken advantage of in the name of the greater good.

Now, Thera, we've discussed it before, but for the sake of all of them, you're comfortable with me acting as your representative?"

"I am," she nodded, able to tell that more than a few there would be happy to give her endless work if they would be allowed to, something that she'd struggle with, even if she had her own sense of duty. The thought of losing so many of what could be the last days of her life like that was a nightmare when it felt like that was what her uncle was going through, and just as important, she had a child at home to look after.

She still had to learn to fight through her own reverence for the divine, but until then, she was happy to use someone who didn't have the same issue.

"So, there you have it," Ben told them.

"And with that, we can begin the negotiations. So, what is it you'd all like from her? Surely someone prepared some sort of work schedule you'd like her to do and have prepared some offers of compensation for her time." He could immediately tell that no bit of compensation had been considered, at least not too deeply, considering that he was the only mortal who was so demanding about such things, but before anyone else could say anything too dumb, Phixth took over once more, focusing on him as he did.

"We can discuss what her time's worth after we settle on what work she's willing to take. As things are, the work we hope for her and any soul mage can be split into two categories. Helping to raise the skills of ordinary people and helping to elevate others to the third tier."

"Those seem like the same category."

"I don't believe I need to tell you that one of those is a significantly greater time investment than the other. Much in the same way you passively teach people by giving them knowledge as you pass them, we hope she can use her magic in the same way to raise the skills of those around her. I doubt I need to tell you that the power of a third tier can make a rather significant difference in that regard?" He didn't.

Ben's authorities did the same, to the point that when he went out and placed them on whatever crowd he was in, there was a good chance that he'd be hearing a few levels go off and an even better chance that someone would gain a level or two after he'd left while the effect was still active. Even if the way a soul mage would do it would be different from himself, it would also be far broader, not needing to narrow in on specific concepts like that.

"Alright, Thera travels a fair bit anyway, so if the request there is to properly spread a soul spell to help raise the people she encounters, then that's acceptable. Now, what about raising a third tier?"

"It's no different from what you've seen Yuzu do for her lovers, though admittedly, that's proven to have been a poor compromise in the end," Phixth sighed.

Both Jake and Amy had been people well worth raising up for the powers they held, and considering that it was so easy to do by utilizing the towers, it was worth it too, but the time Yuzu spent with them would have been far better used focusing on other contenders who'd been at their level for far longer and accumulated the sort of experience that would give them a far better chance of transcending their limits.

While those two humans could have had a chance, it was built on the estimates that the invasion wouldn't have come at such an early time, something others up there had correctly argued against but had been ignored for the girl's comfort, given both her station, as well as all she'd lost arriving there.

"Okay, so you want her helping everyone when she's out and about, as well as personally looking after a contender."

"Preferably a few."

"Let's say one for now and worry about adding more later. Alright, so long as we're allowed to choose who she's going to try to awaken, then that's acceptable."

"What, so you can choose yourself?" A goddess asked, sarcasm thick in her voice, with many of the others there having expected as much the same, leaving Ben to grin.

"No, of course not. I swear before Myriad, I won't be the one Thera chooses to raise in this agreement. Frankly, can any of you judge us for wanting to be able to choose? Ignoring what goals and desires some of you are sure to harbour, we also just don't want to risk agreeing to dealing with someone like Rook for example, just because you think the skill they might awaken would be worth forcing us to deal with a bad personality.

Getting to choose will drastically reduce the odds of either of us deciding that whoever you all chose needs all of their bones broken. So?" With the promise and the question, a bit of conversation went up among them, their reference frame spend up enough that Thera wouldn't be able to keep track of it normally, if not for Ben beside her, speeding up her mind to listen in. Still, nothing too scandalous was said by the end as Phixth answered.

"That's acceptable, however, once she's more used to her powers, we'd also ask that she devote at least one day a week training a broader group of contenders to allow more of them to benefit from her power while at the same time, allowing her to get to know more of them to see who else she might take in to train in the future."

"That's acceptable. In that case, it comes to the matter of compensation."

"Then let's get to it, shall we? What exactly do you want for her?"

"Four things. The standard pay that both Yuzu and Elvat are receiving for their work, a bit of time from all of the soul gods this world has for me-""Rewards for you for your partner's achievement?" A bat-like god scoffed.

"Actually, this will not only be good for Thera, but for the other two as well. Not every spell can be learned by every soul mage. At least, not normally. They're hard and they take time to master, but I can pull them from the minds of the ones who've already walked that path to transfer that knowledge in a fuller way than just teaching ever could.

Considering not only that, but the fact that I can't benefit from this myself as someone incapable of using affinitied mana, I actually should be asking for a reward for this as well, don't you think? Considering the good it would do for the world, given how valuable a soul mage is." Frowns filled the room, feeling like Ben had just managed to twist things to get his own reward, but his logic wasn't wrong.

That would be valuable, even if there were plenty of gods who wouldn't want Ben in their heads, none knowing that he was already going in all of the ones within his range even then.

"And what would you be looking for after doing that sort of task?" Phixth asked hesitantly, getting to see Ben grin all the wider.

"For you all to fulfill the third request without arguing, of course. Give Thera the equivalent of a tower blessing." A request he thought would finally make that crowd of gods erupt with chaos, aside from some sour expressions and low grumbles, they reacted surprisingly well, confusing Ben at first until looking in the near enough minds revealed an answer. Ah, I have been told before that the gods always try to ensure there's a soul mage living on the world at any given time.

It looks like they always search out the most promising mortal with life or death magic when the current soul mage is nearing the end of their lifespan to drop blessings on. Guess they thought they'd be able to get out of doing that with Thera since she managed it with everything she already has, but considering if we win, they'll have a soul mage around for potentially thousands of years to make requests to, it's not actually a bad deal.

Considering that they're actually getting off really easy in the future with that one, I'm going to have to rip them off more than I originally intended to with the final request. With the knowledge that he'd requested too little for the blessing, he comforted himself with the fact that they surely wouldn't have offered such a thing freely, with only a few looks between the gods being made before Phixth answered.

"Very well, that's acceptable," the god gave in, allowing himself to feel just a bit of hope about how smoothly things had gone despite Ben's presence there.

"Then that just leaves the final one."

"Awaken one of Thera's skills to the second tier," he told them boldly, having originally planned on only asking them to raise the skill he had in mind to the ninth level and seeing a stronger reaction for his greed as he went on, using what he'd seen in their minds against them, just as some had intended to do to Thera.

"Even if the main reason you all have constantly spent your energy to raise a soul mage was in preparation for the war, there's no denying that you'll all continue to benefit from the existence of one for long after, and now you have one with the potential to live for thousands of years without needing to spend the energy to raise up another. Considering that we don't yet know the true lifespan of spirit-hybrids, it could even be longer.

With what you'd be saving in the future by not needing to spend the faith to help elevate a new one, you're all getting off cheap, wouldn't you say?"

"... From what level?"

"She has a lot of useful options," Ben evaded.

"We'll need to properly think about what she could take that would be in the best service of the world. If you're really against it, we won't pick anything below two, but let's be real, this isn't the time to be cheap. You all constantly model the expected outcome of the war, unless you've all really messed up somewhere, I think the last couple months should have seriously shifted the projected results, so spend a little faith on someone who you'll be able to hire for millennia to come."

Phixth sighed, seeing less of a craftsman before him than he did a salesman as the other deities' opinions were gathered.

"Fine, investing in a soul mage is always worthwhile."

"Perfect. In that case, you can pay her out on the blessing at least as a show of good faith, and from there, we can move on." Only a few words exchanged among the gods to sort out what group would give it, it was eventually settled on the gods she would one day join, gaining the soul pantheon's blessing, with notifications of levels for her earth inclination, the sense and sight skills that had room to grow without awakening, and her vision enhancement.

"Then, as for choosing who she'll focus on raising-""Ah, don't worry, we already have a person in mind."

"... And?" Phixth asked, feeling his stomach sink even before hearing it as Ben's smile only deepened.

"Someone powerful enough to be worthy of it, whose awakening would be able to reshape the war itself. Someone who I personally would say has the best chance of getting their awakening before the next wave of anyone else on the planet. The earth magic contender, Thera Oress."